HDFC suspends 20 employees over sting op

A day after ICICI Bank suspended 18 executives for allegedly helping customers convert their black money into white, HDFC Bank suspended 20 employees, and appointed audit firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India and law firm Amarchand Mangaldas to probe the matter.

Similarly, Axis Bank has also appointed a probe committee.

Investigative website Cobrapost had on Thursday released videotapes of a sting operation showing branch-level executives of the three banks allegedly offering to launder black money.

The website alleged that these banks were offering these services as a standard procedure with the full knowledge of their senior management.

Apart from suspending the employees caught on tape, HDFC announced on Saturday: "The bank has taken immediate steps to appoint Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India to carry out an independent forensic enquiry into the allegations and reported statements."

It has also appointed leading law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co to examine the breaches, if any, of the bank's code of conduct and ethical standards by any bank officials.

The bank will carry out a special audit of some of its branches, where the reported videotaping was done.

Axis Bank has also taken damage control measures.

"Pending the enquiry, the bank has advised 16 concerned employees to report to their respective administrative offices," Axis Bank said in a statement.

"A senior-level committee has been constituted to monitor and supervise the entire investigation process on a daily basis," it said.